Drop door for railway cars



.July 7, 1931.

G'. G. GILPIN DROP DOOT( FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed April 26'.' 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Attorney G. G. GILPIN DRO? DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed April 26. 1929 July 7, 1931.

4 snets-sheet 2 Inventor ,f/ Garth G. Gil/0in July 7, 1931. G. G. GILPIN DROP DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 26. 1929 .Tn ventor Garth Goz'n HarneyI Julyv, 1931. G. 6.61pm 1,813,536

DROP DOOR FOR RAILWAY GARS Filed April 2e, 1929 4 sheets-sheet 4 y H310l F311 Gaz'fh G2617 in 'Inventor A:

Attorney Patented July 7, 1931 UNITED s'ra'res PATENT orfrlcr.v

GARTH G. GILIPIN, OF RIVERSIDE. ILLINOS, fiSSGNOR TO UNON METAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOXS,

A CORPORATION OF :DELAWARE DROPl DOOR FOR RALWAY GAR-S Application filed April 26,

My invention relates to the construction of railway cars of the dumping or drop bottom type such as hopper cars7 hopper gondola cars, drop bottom or general service gondola cars or the like, having a door forming a part of the car for retaining the load therein, which door is provided with hinges adjacent one of its edges and is capable of being dropped or swung open to discharge the load. Any means of raising the door to the closed position and any means for locking and releasing the door may be employed with my device. Such a door is commonly called a hopper door. My doors may be used as drop end gates or doors for mill type gondola cars.

The object of the invention is to provide a door for a railway car with a substantially circular rib or reinforcement forming a drum head whereby a load upon the door normal to its load sustaining surface draws the metal toward the center of the circular rib which is resisted by the arcuate construction of the rib. A further object is to disf pose the circular rib obliquely to the body of the door and a still further object is to provide preferably radial brackets to further brace the circular rib which extends inwardly and/or outwardly from the rib.

In the drawings:

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show a typical application of my door to a general service gondola car.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a typical application of my door to a hopper type dump car.

Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive show the door of Figs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9 9 of Fig. 6.

Figs. 1() to 20 inclusive show various modied forms of my improvement wherein Fig. 11 is a section on line 11*11 of Fig. 10.

Fig. 13 is a section on line 13-13 of Fig. 12.

Fig. 15 is a section on line 15-15 of Fig. 14.

Fig. 17 is a section on line 17-17 of Fig. 16.

Fig. 19 is a section on line 19-19 of Fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is a detail of the hinge on Fig. 18. The application of the construction shown 1929. Serial No. 353,305.

in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show a. so-called general service open top gondola car wherein the floor comprises a plurality of drop doors, which doors are supported by the center construction 2 by means of hinges 3 and supported adjacent the side wall 4 of the car by the supporting mechanism. In the form of raising and supporting mechanism shown the operating shaft 5 is revolved so as to wind the chain 6 upon it and as soon as the door is in closed position the operating shaft 5 rolls itself under the door so as to form a support. Means are provided to retain the shaft in this position. The sides of the door opening are formed by the cross bearers 7 which extend between the center construction and the side wall of the car. Any convenient stop to restrict the downward movement of the door, such as 8, may be used.

Figs. i and 5 show my improved door applied to a hopper' car wherein the entire car, or at least the major portion thereof, consists of a hopper with the lower portion thereof divided into a plurality of small hoppers or chutes, which chutes are provided with doors 9 swingably 'supported to a part of the car by hinges 10. Any convenient means may be used to closel and lock the door. The form illustrated comprises a shaft 11 extending between opposite sides of the car which is mounted upon the center sills 12 and provided with an eccentric arm 13 connected to the spreader-14 by a connecting rod 15. This spreader is connected to the oppositcly disposed doors 9-9 for simultaneous operation. f

My improved door comprises a substantially rectangular body portion which language covers the shape of door shown in Fig. 6 which is the usual form for hopper cars, due to the necessary rail clearance. The body portion is provided with a circular or substantially circular rib 21 forming a drum head wherein any vertical load imposed upon tlie door within the circular rib tends to draw the rib inwardly; or in other words, to flatten the circle, which tendency is resisted by the arcuate construction of the ribs, as the force is resisted by a part of the circular rib which could be described as an Cil arch. The circular rib, therefore, forms a very strong construction to resist vertifal loads imposed upon the car.

I preferably provide radial ribs or bracle ets springing from the circular rib and merging into the body 2O of the door. These brackets` may project Within the circle or may project outside of the circular rib (23). Either or both may be used, as either 0r both Would further strengthen the circular rib against deflection under stress.

It is'desirable that some of these brackets extend toward the hinge element 24e and support elements 25, respectively, so that the brackets in combination with a part of the circular rib constitute a beam between the hinge element and the support element.

A simple reinforcement (3?) of this portion of the door Would be as shown in Figs. 11-12. The amount of ribbing and reinforcing would depend upon the size of the door and the load to be supported thereby.

By the term circular I mean anything substantially so; for instance, the hexagonal construction shown in Figs. 14e-l5 or any construction similar thereto ivhich would provide the desired drum head edect.

The circular rib is preferably obliquely disposed to the bony and I prefer to slant it toward the center of the circular rib, as shown for instance, in Fig. 17. Such a formation further reinforces the circular rib against deflection toward the center of the circle.

I prefer to make the door of cast metal wherein it is easier to distribute the metal in the door according to the stress imposed upon the various parts and a casting also eliminates fabrication and assembling of the various parts, and furthermore, assures that the various parts of the door will remain intact and will not be loosened or severed by the motion of the train in service. The invention, however, is not limited to a cast metal door and Figs. 18, 19 and 2O show a construction wherein the door body is made of a rolled metallic plate 40 provided adjacent its perimeter with a flange All and the central part of the door is reinforced by a rolled angle 42 bent to circular formation, Which angle is Welded or otherwise secured to the body portion of the door. Fig. 19 is a section on 19-19 of Fig. I8. Fig. 2O shows the hinge 43 in detail.

I have shown and described the circular rib and several means of reinforcing the circular rib to better enable it to perform its function. I-Iowever, any one or all of the several means may be used and still come Within the scope of this invention.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof Within the scope of the claims Will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A hinged door for a railway car comprising a substantially rectangular body, a circular rib, said body extending beyond said rib von all sides thereof, and brackets springing from the rib and merging into the body.

2. A hinged door for a railWaycar comprising a substantially rectangular body, and a circular rib obliquely disposed to said body.

3. A hinged door for a railway car comprising a substantially rectangular body, and a circular rib obliquely disposed to said body and slanting toward the centerof said circular rib.

GARTH G. GILPIN. 

